2014 Pacific hurricane season (Sassmaster15's version)
The 2014 Pacific hurricane season was an exceptionally active year of tropical cyclone formation in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. With 22 named storms developing, the season is regarded as the fourth-busiest Pacific hurricane season on record since reliable record-keeping began in 1949. However, despite the number of storms forming, only 11 attained hurricane status with another six attaining major hurricane status. The dates that typically delimit tropical cyclone formation in the East Pacific are from May 15 to November 30, while in the Central Pacific tropical cyclone formation usually occurs from June 1 to November 30. However, tropical cyclone formation is possible any time of the year. Due to the likelihood of an El Niño developing in the latter half of the season, most forecasting agencies predicted a very active, even hyperactive, season. The season did start off in an active manner, with four tropical cyclones forming prior to July, and the season remained this way till the end of October, when activity ceased and the season went dormant for the remainder of the year. The extremely high number of storms was the highest total in 22 years. In addition, a further eleven attained hurricane status, while another six went on to become a major hurricane (Category 3 or higher according to the Saffir-simpson scale). The season also broke some records and several storms were notable. In August, Hurricane Iselle was the strongest tropical cyclone on record to strike the Big Island of Hawaii, while Hurricane Marie nearly became the first Category 5 hurricane in the basin since 2010, though was later downgraded in post-season analysis. In addition, Hurricane Odile, the strongest storm of the season, was the strongest and most destructive hurricane ever to strike Mexico's Baja California peninsula. Another record broken by Odile was for having the lowest pressure ever measured for a Category 4 hurricane in the basin, with reconnaissance aircraft reporting a minimum pressure of 916 millibars. Seasonal Outlook On March 12, 2014, the Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (SMN) issued its first outlook for the Pacific hurricane season, expecting a total of fifteen named storms, seven hurricanes, and three major hurricanes. A month later, the agency revised their outlook to fourteen named storms, seven hurricanes, and five major hurricanes, citing the anticipated development of El Niño for above-average activity, compared to the 1949-2013 average of 13.2. On May 22, the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) announced its prediction of 14 to 20 named storms, seven to eleven hurricanes, three to six major hurricanes, and an Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) within 95-160% of the median. It also called for a 50% chance of an above-normal season, a 40% chance of a near-normal season, and a 10% chance of a below-normal season. Similar to the SMN outlook, the basis for the forecast was the expectation of below average wind shear and above average sea surface temperatures, both factors associated with El Niño conditions. The CPC also noted that the Eastern Pacific was in a lull that first began in 1995; however, they expected that this would be offset by the aforementioned favorable conditions. Within the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC)'s jurisdiction, four to seven tropical cyclones were expected to form, slightly above the average of four to five tropical cyclones. Taken from Wikipedia Overview ImageSize = width:700 height:275 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:20 left:20 Legend = columns:3 left:30 top:58 columnwidth:190 AlignBars = early DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/05/2014 till:01/01/2015 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMinor = grid:black unit:month increment:1 start:01/05/2014 Colors = id:canvas value:gray(0.88) id:GP value:red id:TD value:rgb(0.38,0.73,1) legend:Tropical_Depression_=_<39_mph id:TS value:rgb(0,0.98,0.96) legend:Tropical_Storm_=_39-73_mph id:C1 value:rgb(1,1,0.80) legend:Category_1_=_74-95_mph id:C2 value:rgb(1,0.91,0.46) legend:Category_2_=_96-110_mph id:C3 value:rgb(1,0.76,0.25) legend:Category_3_=_111-129_mph id:C4 value:rgb(1,0.56,0.13) legend:Category_4_=_130-156_mph id:C5 value:rgb(1,0.38,0.38) legend:Category_5_≥_157_mph Backgroundcolors = canvas:canvas BarData = barset:Hurricane bar:Month PlotData= barset:Hurricane width:11 align:left fontsize:S shift:(4,-4) anchor:till from:22/05/2014 till:27/05/2014 color:C2 text:Amanda (C2) from:01/06/2014 till:04/06/2014 color:TS text:Boris (TS) from:09/06/2014 till:11/06/2014 color:TS text:Cristina (TS) from:27/06/2014 till:07/07/2014 color:TS text:Douglas (TS) from:29/06/2014 till:03/07/2014 color:TS text:Elida (TS) from:05/07/2014 till:10/07/2014 color:TS text:Fausto (TS) from:17/07/2014 till:19/07/2014 color:TS text:Wali (TS) from:23/07/2014 till:07/08/2014 color:C4 text:Genevieve (C4) from:28/07/2014 till:29/07/2014 color:TS text:Hernan (TS) from:31/07/2014 till:11/08/2014 color:C4 text:Iselle (C4) from:05/08/2014 till:13/08/2014 color:C1 text:Julio (C1) barset:break from:10/08/2014 till:28/08/2014 color:TS text:Karina (TS) from:15/08/2014 till:22/08/2014 color:C1 text:Lowell (C1) from:21/08/2014 till:28/08/2014 color:C4 text:Marie (C4) from:01/09/2014 till:10/09/2014 color:C4 text:Norbert (C4) from:09/09/2014 till:18/09/2014 color:C4 text:Odile (C4) from:12/09/2014 till:13/09/2014 color:TD text:Sixteen-E (TD) from:14/09/2014 till:17/09/2014 color:TD text:Seventeen-C (TD) from:15/09/2014 till:20/09/2014 color:TS text:Polo (TS) from:26/09/2014 till:30/09/2014 color:TS text:Rachel (TS) from:02/10/2014 till:08/10/2014 color:C3 text:Simon (C3) from:14/10/2014 till:24/10/2014 color:C2 text:Ana (C2) barset:break from:18/10/2014 till:19/10/2014 color:TS text:Trudy (TS) from:28/10/2014 till:02/11/2014 color:C2 text:Vance (C2) bar:Month width:5 align:center fontsize:S shift:(0,-20) anchor:middle color:canvas from:01/05/2014 till:01/06/2014 text:May from:01/06/2014 till:01/07/2014 text:June from:01/07/2014 till:01/08/2014 text:July from:01/08/2014 till:01/09/2014 text:August from:01/09/2014 till:01/10/2014 text:September from:01/10/2014 till:01/11/2014 text:October from:01/11/2014 till:01/12/2014 text:November from:01/12/2014 till:01/01/2015 text:December TextData = pos:(400,30) text:"(From the" pos:(447,30) text:"Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale)" May & June July & August September & October Storms Hurricane Amanda Tropical Storm Boris Tropical Storm Cristina Tropical Storm Douglas Tropical Storm Elida Tropical Storm Fausto Tropical Storm Wali Hurricane Genevieve Tropical Storm Hernan Hurricane Iselle Hurricane Julio Tropical Storm Karina Hurricane Lowell Hurricane Marie Hurricane Norbert Hurricane Odile Tropical Depression Sixteen-E Tropical Depression Seventeen-C Tropical Storm Polo Tropical Storm Rachel Hurricane Simon Hurricane Ana Tropical Storm Trudy Hurricane Vance Storm Names Season Effects